Mercedes to launch computer consultanc
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MERCEDES-Benz proposes to Introduce its transport consultancy service to the UK at the 1978 International Motor Show.
Called Transport Consultancy Service, it has been in operation in Europe since 1971 and will be available to British fleet operators from November.
The basis of the service is a computerised performance analysis system which is currently working for 300 companies operating 8,000 commercial vehicles in Europe.
Called the Fleet Information System it records and analyses vehicle costs against efficiency and performance criteria.
Operators can choose the period for which the data summaries are produced. This can cover a calendar year, a business year, a seasonal peak or recurring transport orders.
Further flexibility enables the system to offer data relating to particular weight categories of vehicle, journeys or contracts.
The cost usage comparison aims at real rationalisation which can permanently reduce the fleet operator's overheads and applies equally to haulage and own-account transport undertakings.
The system requires the transport operator to supply, at regular intervals, the recorded information for the required period. This can be from his own records, or from the Transport Consultancy manual cost recording system.
The customer is supplied with a series of input cards on which he records his requirements for the computer.
The card is forwarded to Stuttgart for computer processing and in return the operator is supplied with a comprehensive analysis and survey of his business, highlighting and comparing each element historically, against budget and against national average.
Daimler-Benz AG guarantee in writing that the data will not be declared to a third party.
Summarised averages are collated and made available for comparison purposes to the transport industry at large through the Transport Consultancy Service and they provide a useful yardstick against which individual performances may be measured.
In addition to the Fleet Information System is the Technical Application Service and the Body Building Liaison Service.
The Technical Application Service will not be available in the short-term in the UK but will deal with such matters as the development of a special vehicles for particular op tions or industries, wareht design, loading and unloa techniques, distribution Ii lation requirements and di training.
Body Building Liaison i activity where the E Building manager keep close contact with thE dustry on a national bas consult and advise in res of Mercedes' own prod and discuss developmeni the industry generally.
Full information on transport consultancy sei is available from the Tram Consultancy Service de! ment, Mercedes-Benz ( Ltd, Hayes, Middlesex.